The Gift of Him
by Bottom of the Food Chain
Summary: AU. Valentine's day brings out the pep in Axel and the past in Roxas. One-shot


The blond studied fervently out of the large, bulky text book placed on his lap, occasionally jotting down a note or two on a scratch piece of paper. It was Valentine's Day and Roxas knew this meant monkey business was ensued with Axel around. This was the exact reason why he had chosen today to spend the entire day with his nose in a book, using the lame excuse of a 'test on Monday' to cover for it. He knew it was a long shot, but it was worth a try.

Axel was currently "out". He didn't really inquire about what "out" meant, nor did he really care. He just wanted some peace and quiet for once in his long, stress riddled life. And it was peaceful at the moment. The shared dorm room was comfortably warm, a nice contrast to the bitter cold awaiting for anyone who dared to step outside. No one was having any obnoxiously loud get-togethers next door either, so the only sound that could be heard was the murmur of the city below.

Roxas could almost say he was content. That is, until the energetic red-head busted through the flimsy, green painted door, whistling loudly as he did. The tune he carried was "L-O-V-E" and he did it in a very flamboyant, happy manner. You could practically say he was dancing. He flung the keys of his car on the counter on one of the higher notes then made his way over to the couch where the stony faced Roxas sat. He didn't even spare the fool a glance and simply kept reading, acting as if he didn't know he was in the room. He could feel a the couch sink next to him as Axel plopped down directly next to him and wrapped his slender arm around his shoulders, placing his head next to Roxas's. Then it began.

"L is for the way you look at meee~" he wailed, swaying from side to side and forcing Roxas to do so as well. "O is for the only ooone I seee. V is very, very _**extra**_ordinary. E is even more than anyone that you adore can~" At this point, Roxas's book was sprawled on the floor and Axel was gripping his shoulders and smiling like a mad man.

Roxas didn't break his blank face once, appearing to be completely un-amused. After Axel had stopped serenading him, he blinked once and sighed. He then stated that he was trying to study and that there was a huge test on Monday that he was stressed out for, hoping that he'd understand and leave him alone.

"But, Roxie! It's Valentine's Day. Don't you feel the love at all?" he had cried. "I'm your boyfriend for Christ sake! Stop being such a prude." Now he had fallen to the extent of whining like a child.

"Valentine's Day was made by the government. There's no saint, spirit, or real meaning to it at all." Roxas stated, reaching for his book by his feet. "And I'm not a prude. I'm just not entirely insane, like you." He continued. The way he saw it, he just wasn't a holiday person. He wasn't an "interaction" kind of person, either. He'd much rather be left in solitude than with a crowd of people. In fact, the only way the two knew each other and were dating was because Axel had been so ridiculously persistent.

Roxas hadn't even been interested in romance or relationships his entire life until Axel came along. He was labeled by physiologists as "asexual" and "sociopathic", meaning that he didn't emote. Roxas never believed this, because his heart certainly did ache his whole life, he just didn't react the way others did. His mom was always so concerned, coddling him like he had a mental disorder when he was younger and trying to avoid him in all ways possible as a teenager. He supposed he was rather abnormal, though. There was no point in blaming his mom.

But as Axel had said it, he was never asexual, his heart was just waiting for the right person to warm it. And Axel was definitely the closest person to get him to feel. Just the other man's presence was enough to make him feel. It wasn't only happiness though. He was suddenly exposed to jealousy, loathing, bitterness, woe, and especially that "I don't even care anymore" feeling that he had never been able to describe with a single word. Throughout their relationship, Roxas had _felt _so much that he _felt _he was becoming a prepubescent girl.

When he told his mother that him and Axel were an item, she was more relieved than anything. It was good to know that he was relatable to at least a small majority of people. But Roxas didn't really identify himself as homosexual so that was kind of booted out the window as well. He wasn't attracted to men, but he wasn't attracted to women either. It was only Axel. Roxas realized that he had been rereading the same paragraph for a while now as his mind went on its own path, thinking of unnecessary things.

"I made some cookies." Axel stated solemnly, his pep completely drained.

"Awesome." Roxas said in the blandest voice he could muster.

"Do you want to know what kind they are?" Axel piped again, hoping to spark a conversation.

"I'm not in the mood for sweets right now, so not really." Roxas mused, driving over the topic with a semi truck. Silence followed for a good five minutes afterward, Roxas reading and Axel simply staring at the floor. The clock on the wall taunted the both of them.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Roxas felt like an asshole. His partner was rarely so deflated and it was quite clearly his fault. He sighed and placed his book down on his lap, facing the red headed companion. The ocean crashed down upon grassy meadows as their eyes met.

"I love you, Axel."

In an instant, the hot headed's internal fire burned bright again.

"They're chocolate chip, just so you know."

"My favorite."


End file.
